According to the latest studies, listening to music while working out makes the activity much more enjoyable, and this means you’re more likely to turn it into a long-term habit.
As Marcelo Bigliassi from the University of London and his colleagues found, listening to music during a workout led to a 28% increase in enjoyment compared with not listening to anything.
“The brain mechanisms that underlie the psychological effects of auditory stimuli during physical activity are hitherto under-researched; particularly so in ecologically valid settings,” noted the study authors. “We showed that music has the potential to increase beta waves and elicit a more positive emotional state. This can be capitalized upon during other forms of exercise and render a given activity more pleasurable.”
